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We demonstrate the preparation and coherent control of the angular momentum state of a two-ion crystal. The ions are prepared with an average angular momentum of 7850ℏ freely rotating at 100 kHz in a circularly symmetric potential, allowing us to address rotational sidebands. By coherently exciting these motional sidebands, we create superpositions of states separated by up to four angular momentum quanta. Ramsey experiments show the expected dephasing of the superposition which is dependent on the number of quanta separating the states. These results demonstrate coherent control of a collective motional state described as a quantum rotor in trapped ions. Moreover, our Letter offers an expansion of the utility of trapped ions for quantum simulation, interferometry, and sensing.

We demonstrate the preparation and coherent control of the angular momentum state of a two-ion crystal. The ions are prepared with an average angular momentum of 7850ℏ freely rotating at 100 kHz in a circularly symmetric potential, allowing us to address rotational sidebands. By coherently exciting these motional sidebands, we create superpositions of states separated by up to four angular momentum quanta. Ramsey experiments show the expected dephasing of the superposition which is dependent on the number of quanta separating the states. These results demonstrate coherent control of a collective motional state described as a quantum rotor in trapped ions. Moreover, our Letter offers an expansion of the utility of trapped ions for quantum simulation, interferometry, and sensing.

We describe the design, fabrication, and operation of a novel surface-electrode Paul trap that produces a radio-frequency-null along the axis perpendicular to the trap surface. This arrangement enables control of the vertical trapping potential and consequentially the ion-electrode distance via dc-electrodes only. We demonstrate the confinement of single 40Ca+ ions at heights between 50 μm and 300 μm above planar copper-coated aluminum electrodes. Laser-cooling and coherent operations are performed on both the planar and vertical motional modes. This architecture provides a platform for precision electric-field noise detection and trapping of vertical ion strings without excess micromotion and may have applications for scalable quantum computers with surface ion traps.

We describe the design, fabrication, and operation of a novel surface-electrode Paul trap that produces a radio-frequency-null along the axis perpendicular to the trap surface. This arrangement enables control of the vertical trapping potential and consequentially the ion-electrode distance via dc-electrodes only. We demonstrate the confinement of single 40Ca+ ions at heights between 50 μm and 300 μm above planar copper-coated aluminum electrodes. Laser-cooling and coherent operations are performed on both the planar and vertical motional modes. This architecture provides a platform for precision electric-field noise detection and trapping of vertical ion strings without excess micromotion and may have applications for scalable quantum computers with surface ion traps.

We crystallize up to 15 ^{40}Ca^{+} ions in a ring with a microfabricated silicon surface Paul trap. Delocalization of the Doppler laser-cooled ions shows that the translational symmetry of the ion ring is preserved at millikelvin temperatures. By characterizing the collective motion of the ion crystals, we identify homogeneous electric fields as the dominant symmetry-breaking mechanism at this energy scale. With increasing ion numbers, such detrimental effects are reduced. We predict that, with only a ten-ion ring, uncompensated homogeneous fields will not break the translational symmetry of the rotational ground state. This experiment opens a door towards studying quantum many-body physics with translational symmetry at the single-particle level.

We crystallize up to 15 ^{40}Ca^{+} ions in a ring with a microfabricated silicon surface Paul trap. Delocalization of the Doppler laser-cooled ions shows that the translational symmetry of the ion ring is preserved at millikelvin temperatures. By characterizing the collective motion of the ion crystals, we identify homogeneous electric fields as the dominant symmetry-breaking mechanism at this energy scale. With increasing ion numbers, such detrimental effects are reduced. We predict that, with only a ten-ion ring, uncompensated homogeneous fields will not break the translational symmetry of the rotational ground state. This experiment opens a door towards studying quantum many-body physics with translational symmetry at the single-particle level.